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Stillwater NewsPress
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At least one in four Epic students transfer out

By Ben Felder utation of not returning
The Frontier phone calls, not sending
records, etc.”
Epic virtual charter Other emails included
school has grown into claims by superinten-
one of the largest school dents that transcripts
systems in the state but were being requested for
it has also become one students who were still
of the largest producers actively enrolled in their
of transfers, sending district.
thousands of students in Many emails also
and out of schools across showed Epic officials
Oklahoma throughout complaining to the state
the academic year. about a school district
With an enrollment of not handing over stu-
21,305 last school year, dent transcripts.
Epic had nearly 9,000 HB2905 also requires
transfers, according to an orientation for all
data obtained from the new virtual charter
state Department of Ed- school students .
ucation. “The best part (of the
That’s a mobility rate bill) for me was the in-
of 42 percent, which is troductory period that
twice the rate in the helped them understand
Oklahoma City and the rigor of that school
Tulsa public school dis- and if they will have the
tricts. BEN FELDER/THE FRONTIER discipline and support
Epic has drawn criti- The Epic charter school office in Oklahoma City. system in their home to
cism for its high trans- make it through before
fer rate, including from lowed to transfer into model,” State Super- also know from surveys district. they formally enroll,”
some district leaders a virtual charter school intendent of Public In- of families who have “The exchange of said Sen. Gary Stani-
who claim students who more than once a year struction Joy Hofmeister left EPIC that more records (with Epic) is slawski, R-Tulsa.
leave return in a matter because of a law change said in a statement last than 90 percent would typically not a smooth Hickman said new
of weeks or months. approved this week by week. recommend it to a fam- process,” Latta Public Epic students already go
Epic has promoted it- the state Legislature Removing double ily seeking a distance Schools Superintendent through an evaluation
self as a sort of alterna- and Gov. Kevin Stitt. transfer students from learning school.” Cliff Johnson told The to best determine their
tive school for students In addition to capping the list, along with what For years school ad- Frontier. academic needs. She dis-
who do not find a tradi- transfers, House Bill Epic officials say are ministrators across the In 2018, Johnson sent puted the criticism that
tional school setting to 2905 also requires early graduates and state have complained an email to the state De- students who quickly
be a great fit. school transcripts be transfers from one Epic about the high number partment of Education transfer back to a school
Epic is a public school provided to a student’s school to another, still of transfers in and out that said Epic was not district are putting a
that receives state fund- new school within three leaves nearly 5,600 stu- of Epic. In reviewing responding to multiple strain on the school.
ing for each student. days of enrollment dents who transferred in emails between the state phone calls seeking the “The vast majority
The Frontier shared and nearly doubles the and out of Epic during Department of Educa- records of a student who of the students who
the transfer data with amount of instructional the 2018-19 school year. tion and Epic from 2012 transferred from Epic to are coming into Epic
Epic to allow for com- activities a virtual char- “You could focus on to early 2019, The Fron- Latta. are behind one or more
ment and school officials ter school student must about 1 in 4 EPIC stu- tier found at least 49 “I have personally grade levels,” Hickman
said at least 1,800 were complete to be consid- dents leaving in the times a school district witnessed faxes sent to said. “That means they
students counted twice ered in attendance. previous school year or official claimed Epic my office requesting re- are coming into us with
because they enrolled “Virtual schools meet that 3 out of 4 tried and was unresponsive to re- cords for students that learning deficiencies. If
in Epic, transferred to a real educational need found that our distance quests for transcripts or have never attended our they were only with us
another school and then for some students in learning model was for that the virtual charter school,” Johnson wrote for a brief stint of time
transferred back. Oklahoma, but policy them,” said Shelly Hick- school was requesting in his 2018 email to the how are we to blame for
Beginning in 2021, hasn’t been able to keep man, an assistant super- records for students who state Department of Ed- all of the learning defi-
students will not be al- pace with this type of intendent at Epic. “We had not officially left the ucation. “Epic has a rep- ciencies?”

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